Hinge mechanism



K. A. LUNDELL HINGE MEGHANISM .June 8, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.17. 1963 K. A. LUNDELL HINGE MECHANISM June 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 17, 1963 l AW] 5 KERMIT A. LUNDELL l .ATTORNEYS June 8, 1965K. A. LUNDELL 3,187,374

HINGE MECHANISM File'd D60. 17, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet L/D GOING DOW/V o ln l l 1 l l l O lo 20 30 40 5o 60 70 8O 90 LID DOWN UP ANGLE OF LID /NDGRE-s 274.911. l D G/NG UP INVENTOR. K ER M IT A.LUNDELL ATTORNZ'YSUnited States Patent O `3,137,5741V EHNGE MECHANVSFVE Kermit A. Lundell,.llamestowm NSY., assigner to Weber-Knapp tlompany, Jamestown9 NY.

Filed Bec. i7, i963, Ser. No. 33L29S 6 Claims.. (El. tem-teil)v Thisinvention relates to improvements in counterbalance and self-brakingtype hinge mechanisms for pivotally supporting and balancing andotherwise positionally controlling the lid or Vcover of an open top typecabinet or the like. Thus the invention relates more specically tomotioncontrol hinge mechanisms such as are useful for example in connectionwith top covers of record player cabinets,'freezer cabinetsilingcabinets, r other receptacles having hinged covers or lids swingablefrom horizontal closed positions to vertically standing open positions.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improvedmotion controlling hinge device as aforesaidV Whichwill effectivelycounterbalance the weight lof a cover or lid member at all` positionsthroughout the opera-` tive arc of its movement; automaticallycompensating in improved manner for the varying torque forces due togravity effects on the cover as it moves between horizontally extendingand vertically standing attitudes.V

Another object is to provide in a hinge mechanism as aforesaid improvedmeans for snubbing the hinged cover motion as it swings betweenhorizontal and vertically standing positions, whereby to prevent thecover from coasting when released after manual starting of a covermoving operation.

Another object is toprovide in a mechanism as aforesaid a novelfriction-brake mechanism which is automatically variably operable tocompensate for varyingV torque forces due to gravity effect changes asthe cover moves between horizontal extendingand vertically standingpositions; and which also provides a novel cover hold-down eifectpreventing undesirable vibrations thereof against the cabinet.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a hinge mechanism asaforesaid which is of structurally simple and compact form; the parts ofwhich` are rugged and fail-proof in operation and yetwhich may berelatively inexpensively fabricated.

VAnother object is to provide an improved hinge mechanism as aforesaidwhich is adapted to be mounted on the outside of the cabinet back walland below the level of the cabinet top surface, and which permits thecover to be opened to a vertically standing position, thereby leavingthe interior of the cabinet fully accessible for installation ofcomponents and totally unobstructed, while still being inconspicuousfrom all angles from which the cabinet is usually viewed.

Another object is to provide an improved hinge mechanism as aforesaidwhich may be readily adjusted to, cause it to operate to provideimproved countei'balancing elfects yinv connection withl cabinetA coversof various weights and/or dimensions.

Other objects and advantages of the inventiony willV appear from thespecification hereinafter and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top perspective view of a cabinet having itscover mounted thereon by means of a pair of hinges of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is .a fragmentary vertical sectional view, on enlarged scale,through one of the hinges of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3 3 of FiG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view `taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FlG. 2 but showing 1 eisten V PatentedJune, i965 ICC the hinge parts when the cabinet coverI is in variousopen positions;

kFlGS. 6, 7 are fragmentary sectional views, on enlarged scale, showingthe hinge counterbalance and variable brake mechanisms in diiferentconditions of operation;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8 8 of FIG. 7;

PEG 9 is an exploded view in perspective of the parts of the hingemechanism;

FIG. 10 is a graphical comparison of the torque effect curves of the lidand mechanism actions in the case of a typical mechanism of theinvention when the lid is moving towardsV closed position; and

FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG. 10 but shows the action when the lid ismoving towards open position.

As shown in the drawing herewith, a pair of hinges em- V bodying theinvention; being individually indicated generally at 1-1L FIG. 1, areemployed to mount a cover i2 relative to a cabinet i4; it beingunderstood of course that only one or any other number of such hingesmay be employed to provide proper hinging support for a cabinet cover,depending upon its weight and/ or dimensional characteristics. The hingeor hinges, as the case may be, Vare adapted to be mounted against therear wall of the cabinet and against the rear edge of the cover, so asto be thereby unobtrusively disposed from view such as when the cabinetis customarily placed against a wall surface or the like. Hence, whenthe cover is raised to its full open position as illustrated for exampleby broken lines at FIG. 5, access to the interior of the cabinet iscompletely unobstructed by the presence of any hinge parts. This is animportant feature for example in connection with record player cabinetsor the` like. Also the hinge mechanism of the present invention is ofsuch compact dimensional form asto be adequately accommodated in thespace between the cabinet and the adjacent wall which is required topermit raising the cabinet cover to its vfully vertical standingposition. Hence, mounting of the hinge mechanism of the presentinvention on the outside of the cabinet rear wall is of no detriment,and per se requires no positional shifting of the cabinet relative tothe adjacent wall.

As shown by way of example herein, the'mechanism of the presentinvention comprises a pair of vrelatively pivotable bracket portionsinterconnected by means of a hinge pin i6. One of the bracket portionscomprises a generally channel-shaped housing member 13 adapted to be xedas by means of wood screws or the like, in vertically standing attitudeagainst the back wall of the cabinet; having apertured side flangesfig-19 for that purpose. The side walls of the bracket 1S are formed attheir upper ends with eye portions Zit-Ztl accommodating the pin i6; Thesecond bracket portion comprises a metal stamping as indicated generallyat 22, having parallel eye portions 24-24 suitably apertured to alsoaccommodate the pin le therethrough; whereby the parts 18, 22 areinterconnected in hinged relation. The bracket 22 is mso formed with `apair of apertured side anges 26-26 for fastening the bracket to the rearedge ofthe cabinet cover 12; and also preferably includes a forwardlyex- Y tending tab 28 which is apertui'ed to accommodate a wood screw 29or the like for additional fastening of the device to the underside ofthe cabinet cover. Thus it will be appreciated that by reason of thisarrangement the cover i2 is mounted to pivot relative to the open top ofthe cabinet tdrbetween horizontally extending closed position andpartial or Vfull open positionsV when the cover is in full verticallyextending position.

To counterbalance the weight of the cover to which the hinge mechanismis attached, a compression spring 3@ is provided to bear at its lowerend upon a washer 32 cal'- ried by a sleeve-shaped brake shoe at anenlarged shoulder portion 35 thereof. A rounded bottom end portion ofthe sleeve 34 rests in a conically bored cup 36 having a top flange 37which rests upon an apert-ured sill portion 38 of a stirrup memberdesignated generally by the numeral 4f). The upper end of the spring 3f)bears against a cross bar 42 which acts as a guide for the upper end ofthe spring 30, by being held in slotted portions 46 of the arms 44. Tofacilitate this action the ends of the cross bar 42 are fitted withwear-resistant buttons 4S which ride in the slots 46 to prevent anymetal-to-metal sliding contacts. The stirrup arms 44-44 lare aperturedat their upper ends to accommodate therethrough a hanger pin 49 whichalso extends through aligned apertures in the side walls of the bracketmember 22 at positions radially offset from the axis of the main hingepin 16. Thus, the stirrup 40 is suspended from the pin 49 which swingsthrough an arc about the axis of the hinge pin 16 as the bracket22pivots on the hinge pin 16 as the cabinet cover swings between closedand open positions.

The cross bar 42 is held in position by means of a tie rod 50 which isheaded as shown at 52 at its lower end to be thereby anchored in anaperture 54 formed in a bottom plate S5 which bears upwardly against acentrally apertured bottom wall portion 56 of the bracket 18;cooperating nubs 57 and recesses 58 being'formed on the bottom plate 5Sand the bottom wall 56 respectively, to maintain the parts in properposition. The tie rod 5t) at its upper end threads through a tappedaperture 60 (FIG. 9) in the cross bar 42, and thus the spring 3f) ismaintained in compressed relation between the bottom sill 38 and thecross bar 42; the degree of compression decreasing as the cover 12 movestowards its up-standing or open position to compensate for decreasingtorque loads (due to gravity forces on the cover) as it swings upwardly.Y

The parts are so dimensioned and arranged that when the cover is down,as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, the stirrup 40 is pulled upon upwardly so as tocompress the spring 30 into the range of its high-tensioned condition.Thus, the spring 30 is now exerting maximum pull downwardly through thestirrup and upon the pin 49; tending to rotate the hinge bracket 22about the main hinge pin 16 so as to effectively counterbalance thetorque load due to gravity effects upon the cover 12 when in itshorizontal position. Hence, the cover may now be easily lifted foraccess to the cabinet interior by application of only slight manualpressures against the front edge of the cover.

As the cover is first moved upwardly, such as through the first 45degrees of its opening arc, the stirrup hanger pin 49 swings in an arcbehind the hinge pin 16 as fromthe position of FG. 2 to the position ofFIG. 5, thereby substantially reducing the distance between the pin 49and the anchorage of the rod 50 at the bottom of the housing 1S. Thisrelaxes the spring and reduces the forces being applied by the springfor counterbalancing the gravity forces on the cover. inasmuch as thecover is now swinging towards an upwardly standing position about thehinge pin 16, the torque forces thereon (due to gravity) are decreasingprogressively as the cover approaches its fully upright position; andthe parts are so proportioned and arranged that throughout the arc ofcover motion the varying torque and spring forces are operable togenerally compensate for and balance one another. When the cover reachesa truly vertical standing attitude as shown for example by broken linesin FIG. 5, the distance between the hanger pin 49 and the anchor pointof the rod Sfl is minimum; and the rod 59 is preferably so adjusted inthe cross bar 42 so that under this condition the spring exerts minimumforces on the hanger pin 49. Furthermore, the construction is such thatwhen the cover approaches the vertical attitude, an appreciable springforce over that required for cover counterbalance alone, is applied.This keeps the cover in its fully open position and prevents itsunintended sagging forwardly therefrom,

such as might otherwise occur in response to external jarring orvibration forces.

As shown in FIG. 2, the parts are so proportioned and arranged that asthe cover swings down into its fully closed position, the hanger pin 49moves towards a position above the hinge pin 16 so as to reduce theeffective lever arm through which the spring is acting. Therefore,although the spring is now moving towards its condition of maximumcompression, it is less effective in supporting the cover. This effectis augmented by the fact that the spring effect at this stage of thecover position, is arranged to be less than is required to support thecover at this point. Thus, the cover is now permitted to fall throughthe last few degrees of its travel arc with increasing force into firmlypressed relation against the cabinet; and the cover is now held downunder gravity restraint. Furthermore, the friction-brake effect betweenthe sleeve 34 and the tie rod 5t) is now at its maximum (due to maximumcompression of the spring 30) thereby contributing to the gravityeffects hereinabove described. Thus, the cover is now held firmly downby both gravity and friction-brake effects, and is thereby preventedfrom noisily vibrating against the cabinet, such as might otherwiseoccur under the influence of cabinet vibrations induced by audiospeakers, fioor movements, or the like.

Screwdriver adjustments of the spring control tie rod 50 will of courseadapt the mechanism to provide preferred cover actions, as well as toproperly control the movements of covers of different weights and/ ordimensions. Thus, when applied to heavier covers, for example, and/ orto covers of greater depth dimensions, whereby gravityinduced torqueloads thereon are heavier, the spring 30 will be more highly tensionedand will provide proportionately greater (and needed) cover balancingeffects.

It lis a particular feature of the mechanism of the present inventionthat the brake sleeve 34 is formed of a resiliently plastic material'having variable contact-friction characteristics. Thus, for example asshown in FIG. 7, when the spring 3) is in its most relaxed condition(when the cover 12 is in full open and vertically standing position) thebrake sleeve 34 fits with the least pressure on the rod 50 while therounded bottom nose portion of the sleeve rests in the conical cup 36 inits least deformed condition. Hence, substantially no friction brakeeffects exist between the sleeve 34 and the rod 50.

However, as the cover 12 is moved downwardly toward its horizontal orcabinet-closing position, the stirrup 40 is thereby pulled upwardlyrelative to the bracket 18 and this increasingly compresses the spring30. This progressively increasing compression of the spring 30 isreflected in correspondingly increasing pressures being applied by thespring against the shoulder portion 35 of the brake sleeve 34, tendingto further drive the rounded bottom nose portion of the sleeve into theconical cup 36, thereby squeezing the material of the sleeve radiallyinwardly into progressively increasing friction-bearing contact with rod50.

Thus, it will be appreciated that as the torque loads on the cover (dueto. gravity effects thereon) increase as the cover'moves from an uprightstanding position toward a horizontal extending position, the motionsnubbing or friction brake effects generated by the nose portion of thebrake sleeve 34 against the rod 50 increase proportionately. Conversely,as the cover moves from a horizontal attitude towards an upwardlystanding position the brake action progressively decreases; andtherefore, by virtue of this arrangement the braking effect tending tosnub any cover movement automatically varies in intensity in accordancewith the torque loads on the cover, which are functions of the angularattitudes of the cover as it swings about its hinge axis.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9, the brakeV sleeve 34 ispreferably slotted as indicated at 60, 60 longitudinally of the sleeveand through diametrically opposed wall positions thereof, to facilitatethe variable clamping action of the shoe parts against lthe control rod5d. However, a small web portion 62 (FIG. 8) is preferably left at oneside when slotting the sleeve to maintain the two halves of the sleevein integral relation, thereby facilitating manufacture and easierhandling of the parts.`

Hence, it will be appreciated that the relatively simple mechanism ofthe present invention is adapted to hingedly mount a cover as explainedhereinabove and to at the same time provide an automatically varyingcounterbalancing spring eifect (as a function of cover position),compensating for coincidental variations in the torque loads on thecover due to gravity effects. Also, at the same time the cover motionsnubbing action of the friction sleeve 3ft lis automatically adjusted toprovide appropriately varying degrees of brake action to compensate forthe varying inertia forces of the cover. Thus the cover is easily putmanually into motion from a standstill position at any point within thearc of its permissive hinge movement; and yet whenever manualdisplacement forces are removed the snubbing action of the sleeve 34will operate to smoothly and quickly cushion and Vthen halt the covermovement. Thus, for example, the cover may be given a motion impetus,and whenever the manually applied force is removed tthe cover willimmediately decelerate and come to` a smooth stop, regardless of theposition thereof within the range of permissive movement. This is truewhether the cover is being moved upwardly, or downwardly toward cabinetclosing position, and at any stage throughout its arc of movement, andalso operates to damp out anytendency of the cover to oscillate whenstanding still.

FIG. l0 illustrates graphically the torque effect curves involved in theoperation of a typical mechanism of the invention when the lid is movingtowards its closed position. Curve A depicts the lid torque due togravity effects acting on the lid throughout the range of its hingingmovements in either direction. Curve B depicts the torque output of themechanism as the lid moves from its open position towards its closedposition; .being a combination of the spring and friction outputsoperating to counterbalance the lid and to damp any movements thereof.Curves C and D depict respectively the spring and friction ltorquecomponents of curve B. From this graph it will be evident that themechanism of the invention will operate to counterbalance and snub anycoasting tendency of the lid until it approaches its closed positionwhereupon the gravity torque exceeds the spring and friction torque, andthe lid falls into firmly closed position.

FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG. l() but compares the operative torqueeffects as the lid moves from its closed position towards its openposition. Note that whereas in lFlG. the spring and friction effectsboth operate against gravity effects, FIG. ll shows how the gravity andfriction eilectsboth oppose the spring effect. When the lid reaches asubstantially elevated position the spring and frictionV effect beginsto exceed the gravity effect, and assures firm holding of the lid whenin its open position. The mechanism may be designed to provide anypreferred ratio of the friction effect to the combined spring andfriction effect, by altering the angle of coning of the cup 36. rlEhus,the friction brake effect may be` increased for example to accommodateheavier lids, by closing the cone angle of the cup; and conversely,lighter lids are accommodated by widening the cone angle. i Also, in anycase if it is preferred to give the lid greater freedom ofmovement, thiscan be achieved by reducing the ratio of the friction effect to combinedfriction and spring effect.

Thus, the mechanism of the invention provides highlyN desirableoperational features; and it will of course be appreciated that althoughonly one specic form of the invention has been illustrated and describedin detail herein, various changes may be made in the mechanism shown anddescribed by way of example, without departing from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of thel and said cabinet respectively, a hingepin pivotally interconnecting said brackets, -a stirrup member ofU-shaped form including opposed leg portions pivotally connected attheir upper ends to a hanger pin carried by said rst bracket at aposition radially offset from'the axis of said hinge pin, said stirrupmember including a bottom sill portion apertured and carrying therein acup with a conical bore, a resilient friction-material sleeve having arounded bottom end portion resting in the bore of said cup, acompression spring bearing downwardly at its bottom end upon said sleeveand bearing at its upper end against Va cross arm having its oppositeend portions riding in slide guide means formed on said stirrup legportions, a tie rod fixed at its bottom end to the second of saidbrackets and slidably extending vertically through said sill portion andsaid cup and said yspring and fixed at its upper end to said c'ross armwhereby to hold the latter in constant distance relation with saidsecond bracket, said spring being adjusted to exert forces actingthrough said stirrup member counterbalancing the torque effects ofgravity on said cover throughout the range of its positional movements,the internal wall surfaces of said sleeve bearing in frictionalengagement with said tie rod and thereby operating to snub movements ofsaid Vstirrup member relative to said tie rod thereby damping hingingmovements of said cover, the friction bearing pressures between -saidsleeve and said tie rod varying according to the thrust pressurevariations of said spring against said sleeve as a function of springcompression variations incident to cover positional changes.

2. A cover mounting combination hinge and counterbalance and motionsnubbing mechanism for hingedly mountmg a cover upon an open top cabinetwhereby said cover may be easily swung between horizontal and verticallystanding attitudes, said mechanism including lirst and second bracketsadapted to be fixed to said cover and said cabinet respectively, a hingepin pivotally interconnecting said brackets, a hanger pin carried bysaid iirst bracket at a position radially offset from the axis of saidhinge pin and moving in an arc therearound upon hinging movements of themounted cover between positions above and to one side of the hinge axis,a stirrup member of U-shaped form including opposed leg portionspivotally connected at their upper ends to said hanger pin, said stirrupmember including a bottom sill portion apertured and carrying therein aconically bored cup, a resilient friction-material sleeve having arounded bottom end portieri resting in said cup, a compression springbearing downwardly at its bottom end upon said sleeve and bearing at itsupper end against a cross arm having its opposite end portions riding inslide guide means said stirrup being rocked alternately between nearandV far off center attitudes relative lto the hinge axis as the coverswings between closed and open positions thereby varying the effectivelever arm through which the spring forces act upon said cover, theinternal wall surfaces of said sleeve bearing in frictional engagementwith said tie rod and thereby operating to snub movements of saidstirrup member relative to said tie rod thereby damping hingingmovements of said cover, the friction bearing pressure between saidsleeve and said tie rod varying 'according to the thrust pressurevariations of said spring against said sleeve as a function of springcompression variations incident to cover positional changes,

3. A cover mounting combination hinge and counterbalance and motionsnubbing mechanism for hingedly mounting a cover upon an open topcabinet whereby said cover may be easily swung between horizontal andvertically standing attitudes, said mechanism including first and secondbrackets adapted to be fixed to said cover and said cabinetrespectively, a hinge pin pivotally interconnecting said brackets, astirrup member of U-shaped form including opposed leg portions pivotallyconnected at their upper ends to a hanger pin carried by said firstbracket at a position radially offset from the axis of said hinge pin,said stirrup member including a bottom sill portion of conically boredcup form, a resilient frictionmaterial sleeve having a rounded bottomend portion resting in said cup form, a compression spring bearingdownwardly at its bottom end upon said sleeve, a tie rod fixed at itsbottom end to the second of said brackets and slidably extendingvertically through said sill portion and said spring `and fixed at itsupper end -to the upper end of said spring whereby to hold the latter inconstant distance relation from said second bracket, said spring beingadjusted to exert forces acting through said stirrup membercounterbalancing the torque effects of gravity on said cover throughoutthe range of its positional movements, the internal wall surfaces ofsaid sleeve bearing in frictional engagement with said tie rod andthereby operating to snub movements of said stirrup member relative tosaid tie rod thereby damping hinging movements of said cover, thefriction bearing pressure between said sleeve and said spring againstsaid sleeve as a function of spring compression variations incident tocover positional changes.

4. A cover mounting combination hinge and counterbalance and motionsnubbing mechanism for hingedly mounting a cover upon an open topcabinet whereby said cover may be easily swung between horizontal andvertically standing attitudes, said mechanism including first and secondbrackets adapted to be fixed to said cover and said cabinetrespectively, a hinge pin pivotally interconnecting said brackets, astirrup member of U-shaped form including opposed leg portions pivotallyconnected at their ends to a hanger pin carried by one of said bracketsand including a conically apertured cross still portion, a resilientfriction-material sleeve having a rounded end portion resting in saidsill portion, a compression spring bearing at one end upon Isaid sleeve,a tie rod fixed at one end tothe second of said brackets and slidablyextending vertically through said sill portion and said spring and fixedat its other end to said spring whereby to hold the latter in constantdistance relation from said second bracket, said spring being adjustedto exert forces acting through said stirrup member counterbalancing thetorque effects of gravity on said cover throughout the range of itspositional movements, the internal wall surfaces of said sleeve bearingin frictional engagement with said tie rod and thereby operating to snubmovements of said stirrup member relative to said tie rod therebydamping hinging movements of said cover, the friction bearing pressurebetween said sleeve and said tie rod varying according to the thrustpressure variations of said spring against said sleeve as a function ofspring compression variations incident to cover positional changes.

5. A cover mounting combination hinge and counterbalance and motionsnubbing mechanism for hingedly mounting a cover upon an open topcabinet whereby said cover may be easily swung between horizontal andvertically standing attitudes, said mechanism including first and secondbrackets adapted to be fixed to said cover and said cabinetrespectively, a hinge pin pivotally interconnecting said brackets, ahanger pin carried by said first bracket at a position radially offsetfrom the axis of said hinge pin and moving in an arc therearound betweenpositions above and to one side of the hinge axis upon hinging movementsof the mounted cover, spring control means comprising a stirrup memberand a tie rod each pivotally connected to one of said brackets, saidstirrup including a sill portion apertured and carrying therein aconically bored cup, a resilient friction-material sleeve having `arounded bottom end portion resting in said cup, a compression springbearing at one end upon said sleeve and fixed at its other end to saidtie rod, said tie rod being slidably extending vertically through saidsill portion and said cup and said spring, said spring being adjusted toexert forces acting through said stirrup member counterbalancing thetorque effects of gravity on `said cover throughout the range of itsposi-tional movements and said stirrup being rocked alternately betweennear and far ofi center attitudes relative to the hinge axis as thecover swings between closed and open positions thereby varying theeffective lever arm through which the spring forces act upon said cover,the internal wall surfaces of said Isleeve bearing in rictionalengagement with said tie rod and thereby operating to snub movements ofsaid stirrup member relative to said tie rod thereby damping hingingmovements of said cover, the friction bearing pressure between saidsleeve land said tie rod varying according to the thrust pressurevariations of said spring against said sleeve as a function of springcompression variations incident to cover positional changes.

6. A cover mounting combination hinge and counterbalance and motionsnubbing mechanism for hingedly mounting a cover upon an open topcabinet whereby said cover may be easily yswung between horizontal andvertically standing attitudes, said mechanism including first and secondbrackets adapted to be fixed to said cover and said cabinetrespectively, a hinge pin pivotally interconnecting said brackets, astirrup member of U-shaped form including opposed leg portions pivotallyconnected at their ends to a hanger pin carried by one of said bracketsand including a tapered dwell portion, a resilient friction-materialsleeve having an end portion resting in said dwell portion, acompression spring bearing at one end upon said sleeve, a tie rod fixedat one end to the second of said brackets and slidably extending throughsaid dwell portion and said spring and fixed at its other end to saidspring whereby to hold the latter in constant distance relation fromsaid second bracket, said spring being adjusted to exert forces actingthrough said stirrup member counterbalancing the torque effects ofgravity on said cover throughout the range of its positional movements,the internal wall surfaces of said sleeve bearing in frictionalengagement with said tie rod and thereby operating to snub movements ofsaid stirrup member relative to said tie rod thereby damping hingingmovements of said cover.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,911,667 11/59Burke 16-190 3,001,226 9/61 Squire 16-190 DONLEY J. STGCKING, PrimaryExaminer.

6. A COVER MOUNTING COMBINATION HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE AND MOTIONSNUBBING MECHANISM FOR HINGEDLY MOUNTING A COVER UPON AN OPEN TOPCABINET WHEREBY SAID COVER MAY BE EASILY SWUNG BETWEEN HORIZONTAL ANDVERTICALLY STANDING ATTITUDES, SAID MECHANISM INCLUDING FIRST AND SECONDBRACKETS ADAPTED TO BE FIXED TO SAID COVER AND SAID CABINETRESPECTIVELY, A HINGE PIN PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTING SAID BRACKETS, ASTIRRUP MEMBER OF U-SHAPED FORM INCLUDING OPPOSED LEG PORTIONS PIVOTALLYCONNECTED AT THEIR ENDS TO A HANGER PIN CARRIED BY ONE OF SAID BRACKETSAND INCLUDING A TAPERED DWELL PORTION, A RESILIENT FRICTION-MATERIALSLEEVE HAVING AN END PORTION RESTING IN SAID DWELL PORTION, ACOMPRESSION SPRING BEARING AT ONE END UPON SAID SLEEVE, A TIE ROD FIXEDAT ONE END TO THE SECOND OF SAID BRACKETS AND SLIDABLY EXTENDING THROUGHSAID DWELL PORTION AND SAID SPRING AND FIXED AT ITS OTHER END TO SAIDSPRING WHEREBY TO HOLD THE LATTER IN CONSTANT DISTANCE RELATION FROMSAID SECOND SOCKET, SAID SPRING BEING ADJUSTED TO EXERT FORCES ACTINGTHROUGH SAID STIRRUP MEMBER COUNTERBALANCING THE TORQUE EFFECTS OFGRAVITY ON SAID COVER THROUGHOUT THE RANGE OF ITS POSITIONAL MOVE-